A component‐based middleware for hybrid grid/cloud computing platforms

Current solutions for hybrid grid/cloud computing have been developed to hide from heterogeneity, dynamicity, and distributed nature of resources. These solutions are, however, insufficient to support distributed applications with non‐trivial communication patterns among processes or that are structured so as to reflect the organization of resources they are deployed onto. In this paper, we present a generic, adaptable, and extensible component‐based middleware that seamlessly enables a transition of non‐trivial applications from traditional grids to hybrid grid–cloud platforms. This middleware goes beyond the resolution of well‐known technical challenges for multi‐domain computing, as it offers mechanisms to exploit the hierarchical, heterogeneous, and dynamic natures of platforms. We validate its capabilities and versatility through two use cases: an Internet‐wide federation of Distributed Service Buses and a runtime supporting DD high‐performance computing in heterogeneous computing environments using programming that is similar to message‐passing interface. Performance results show the efficiency and usefulness of our middleware and so contribute to promote research efforts geared toward flexible, on‐demand information technology solutions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.